European Referendum

Not sure if this has been posted but I emailed Roger Gale about the above and if the legislation allowing expats to vote was going through.


This is his reply:


Peter

The Lifetime voting bill will be introduced on time for the next election, I understand (there are some difficulties with the drafting of a bill that does not open the door to unacceptable amendments in the Lords) but not in time for an early referendum.

We had hoped for a Lords amendment to the Referendum Bill but the Government does not have a majority in the Upper House and it did not materialise.

Yours ever

Roger

Very disappointing but that's politics these days.

Peter

I have seen a list of the peers who voted against and a large number of Tories were in the list. I would ask ALL expats that can register to vote quickly to get a vote in the vital referendum that could blight all our lives

The government has not given priority to the lifetime voting bill even though the referendum is the most important vote of our lifetime for us expats. This priority and the speed of the referendum were decided by the government.

If we consider the potential danger of EU exit with the possibility of having to resort to private healthcare, no guaranteed inflation to pensions, and loss of EU membership protection against any French law changes, we are all in danger of having to return to the UK due to economic or legal pressures. Despite this the government will not give long term expats the right to vote in this vital referendum.

As I understand it, it was the Liberal Democrat peers that introduced the amendment to allow all ex-pats to vote in the In Out referendum. So had all the tories votes for ity and all the socialists it would have passed. I wonder who voted against it?

The problem appears to be that there enough "outers" of all parties who fear that if we had the right to vote, it may sway the result so, we have no chance.

It is not just the "Bill getting through" but the Civil Service then making all the arrangements for us to have a vote in time. Perhaps if everyone registered to vote now it may show some interest?

The government is getting in a mess with hinting at June and promising (a Cameron promise, errrr.....) this autumn, against advice and objections coming from several quarters. I think the Lords might just scupper June anyway, so the Bill may get through in time. My mates in the Lords say that drafts are so full of caveats that even some Tory peers are raising eyebrows.